If this Saturday’s battle between No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 12 Notre Dame is the low-scoring contest that is expected — the total is currently 46.5 — turning red-zone possessions into touchdowns could turn out to be a key factor.

The Badgers have struggled there.

If the second half against Eastern Michigan is eliminated, nine of Wisconsin’s 18 drives reached the red zone. Only one of the first five the Badgers were able to convert to touchdowns.

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst is aware of the issue, and talked about it on his radio show on Thursday night.

The Badgers have shown the ability to move the ball between the 20’s with great success, using the passing game and finding easy completions for quarterback Graham Mertz. But once they reach the red zone, the trouble starts.

The difficulty cost the Badgers in their opener with Penn State, and Chryst will need Mertz to reverse that trend on Saturday if they hope to succeed against the Irish and avoid another Week 1 showing.

Notre Dame and Wisconsin will take to the Soldier Field turf on Saturday, Sept. 25 — kickoff is set for 11:00AM